Multifunctional keyboard for a mobile communication device and method of operating the same

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for telephony tone signal and character code generation for QWERTY keyboards includes a QWERTY style keyboard, a processor and a keyboard mode control software module. The QWERTY style keyboard has a plurality of letter keys, wherein each letter key is configured to generate a unique input signal. The processor is coupled to the keyboard and is configured to convert each unique input signal generated by the letter keys into a character code and/or a telephony tone signal. The keyboard mode control software module operates on the processor, and controls whether the processor converts the unique input signals from the letter keys into character codes or telephony tone signals.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of the application titled“Multifunctional Keyboard For A Mobile Communication Device And MethodOf Operating The Same,” application Ser. No. 12/908,328, filed Oct. 20,2010, which in turn is a continuation of the application titled“Multifunctional Keyboard For A Mobile Communication Device And MethodOf Operating The Same,” application Ser. No. 12/607,468, filed Oct. 28,2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,392,468 issued Mar. 5, 2013, which in turn isa continuation of the application titled, “Multifunctional Keyboard ForA Mobile Communication Device And Method Of Operating The Same,”application Ser. No. 10/004,001, filed Nov. 1, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No.7,634,080 issued Dec. 15, 2009, which is related to the following priorapplication titled “Apparatus And Method For Telephony Tone Signals andCharacter Codes Generation For QWERTY Keyboards Or The Like,” U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/246,321, filed Nov. 7, 2000. These priorapplications, including the entire written description and drawingfigures, are hereby incorporated into the present application byreference.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is further related to the application titled“Multifunctional Keyboard For A Mobile Communication Device And MethodOf Operating The Same,” application Ser. No. 12/908,311, filed Oct. 20,2010 and to the application titled “Multifunctional Keyboard For AMobile Communication Device And Method Of Operating The Same,”application Ser. No. 13/193,899, filed Jul. 29, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.8,559,622 issued Oct. 15, 2013. These prior applications, including theentire written description and drawing figures, are hereby incorporatedinto the present application by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to the field of keyboard userinterfaces. In particular, the invention provides a multifunctionalkeyboard for a mobile communication device and method of operating thesame.

2. Description of the Related Art

Advances in communication technology have created a convergence betweenthe fields of data and telephony communications. Traditionalcommunication devices, however, typically include two separateinterfaces; one for telephony communication, and one for datacommunication. Other known communication devices utilize the limitedcharacter mapping available on a typical telephone keypad to performdata entry functions. For instance, current telephone keypads map keysto characters on a one-to-many basis: 12 keys (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9, *, 0, #) correspond to 26 characters (ABC, DEF, GHI, JKL, MNO, PQRS,TUV, WXYZ). In addition, most such telephone keypads do not include manyof the characters from the American Standard Code for InformationInterchange (ASCII) character code. In other known communicationdevices, including many cellular phones, data may be entered with atypical telephone keypad by repeatedly pressing a key to cycle through anumber of associated character codes. For instance, repeatedly pressingthe keypad key “2” on a typical cellular phone may cycle through thecharacters A, B, C, a, b, c, and 2.

SUMMARY

A multifunctional keyboard for a mobile communication device includes akeyboard, a processor and a keyboard mode control software module. Thekeyboard has a plurality of letter keys, wherein each letter key isconfigured to generate a keyboard output signal. The processor iscoupled to the keyboard and is configured to convert each keyboardoutput signal generated by the letter keys into a character code and/ora telephony tone signal. The keyboard mode control software moduleoperates on the processor, and controls whether the processor convertsthe keyboard output signals from the letter keys into character codes ortelephony tone signals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exemplary multifunctional keyboard having keys that aremapped to both telephony tone signals and character code signals;

FIG. 2 is another exemplary multifunctional keyboard in which the keysare arranged for optimal use with a hand-held device;

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b illustrate an additional exemplary multifunctionalkeyboard for a communication device in which a plurality of characterentry keys can function as either letter entry keys or number entrykeys;

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a mobile communication deviceutilizing a multifunctional keyboard;

FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the mobile communication deviceshown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 a is a top view of an additional mobile communication deviceutilizing a multifunctional keyboard;

FIG. 5 b is a side view of the additional mobile communication deviceshown in FIG. 5 a;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary mobile communication deviceutilizing a multifunctional keyboard;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method forcontrolling the operational mode of the multifunctional keyboard in acommunication device; and

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating the modes of operation for themultifunctional keyboard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawing figures, FIG. 1 is an exemplarymultifunctional keyboard 10 having keys 12 that are mapped to bothtelephony tone signals and character code signals. The multifunctionalkeyboard 10 is preferably a QWERTY style keyboard in which each of theletter keys 12 also corresponds to a number, although a differentkeyboard style could be used such as a Dvorak or AZERTY keyboard. Thenumber corresponding to a letter key 12 on the multifunctional keyboard10 is preferably based on the number/character correspondence on atraditional telephone keypad. For instance, the number two (2) on atraditional telephone keypad corresponds to all of the letters A, B andC. Similarly, the letter keys A, B and C on the multifunctional keyboard10 each correspond to the number two (2).

The multifunctional keyboard 10 is multifunctional in the sense that itoperates in at least two modes: a telephony mode and a data mode. In thetelephony mode, a key 12 pressed on the multifunctional keyboard resultsin a telephony tone signal for communicating with a voice communicationnetwork. The telephony tone signal may, for example, be a Dual ToneMulti Frequency (DTMF) signal commonly used for dialing a phone numberin voice communication networks. In the data mode, pressing the same key12 on the multifunctional keyboard 10 will result in the generation of acharacter code, such as an American Standard Code for InformationInterchange (ASCII) character code.

In a preferred embodiment, the multifunctional keyboard 10 may alsooperate in a joint mode. In the joint mode of operation, depressing keyson the multifunctional keyboard 10 results in the simultaneousgeneration of both telephony tone signals and character codes. Forexample, pushing the Q key may result in both an ASCII code for theletter Q and a DTMF signal representing the number seven (7).

FIG. 2 is another exemplary multifunctional keyboard 20 in which thekeys are arranged for optimal use with a hand-held mobile communicationdevice. The keys of the multifunctional keyboard 20 preferably comprisea QWERTY style keyboard, although other keyboard styles could beutilized, having a plurality of letter keys 22, a plurality of numberkeys 24, specialized keys 26 and a space bar 28. Each of the letter 22and number 24 keys preferably correspond to a character code while thekeyboard 20 is in data (or joint) mode, and correspond to a telephonytone signal while the keyboard 20 is in telephony (or joint) mode. Inaddition, one or more of the specialized keys 26 may have functions thatvary depending upon the mode of the multifunctional keyboard 20. Forinstance, one specialized key 26 may perform a “line feed” functionwhile the keyboard 20 is in data mode, and a “talk” function while thekeyboard 20 is in telephony mode. In addition, the multifunctionalkeyboard 20 may include one or more mode keys 29 that switch thekeyboard 20 from one operational mode (telephony, data or joint) toanother.

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b illustrate an additional exemplary multifunctionalkeyboard 30, 31 for a communication device in which a plurality ofcharacter entry keys can function as either letter entry keys 32 ornumber entry keys 35. Similar to the multifunctional keyboards 10, 20described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, this multifunctionalkeyboard 30, 31 may operate in telephony mode, data mode, and possiblyjoint mode. In addition, however, this multifunctional keyboard 30, 31utilizes less keys by providing a letter entry mode, shown in FIG. 3 a,and a number entry mode, shown in FIG. 3 b. While in letter entry mode,the keyboard 30 preferably comprises a QWERTY style keyboard 30,although other keyboard styles may be utilized, having a plurality ofletter entry keys 32, specialized keys 33 and a space bar 34. If aletter entry key 32 is pressed while the keyboard 30 is in letter entrymode, a telephony tone signal and/or a character code corresponding tothe letter on the key may be generated, depending upon the operationalmode (telephony, data or joint) of the keyboard 30. When the keyboard 31is in number entry mode, however, a number of the keys are remapped toprovide a numerical keypad, preferably comprising a plurality of numberentry keys 35, specialized keys 33, a space bar 34 and a plurality ofnon-functional keys 36. If a number entry key 35 is pressed while thekeyboard 31 is in number entry mode, a telephone tone signal and/or acharacter code corresponding to the number on (or represented by) thekey may be generated, depending upon the operational mode of thekeyboard 31 (telephony, data or joint).

Preferably, the character entry keys that function as both number entryand letter entry keys, depending upon the entry mode, have both a numberand a letter printed on the key. For example, the “Q” key shown in FIG.3 a and the corresponding “1” key shown in FIG. 3 b would preferablyhave both a “Q” and a “1” printed on the key. The numbers shown inparentheses represent the telephony tone signals corresponding to theletter or number character, and would preferably not be printed on thekey. It should be understood, however, that other printing arrangementsare contemplated. In addition, the keyboard 30, 31, or the communicationdevice utilizing the keyboard 30, 31, preferably includes some means toindicate whether the keyboard is in number or letter entry mode. Forexample, when the keyboard 30, 31 is in one of the letter or numberentry modes, an icon may appear on a display, a particular audible tonemay sound when a key is pressed, an LED may light, or some otherindication means may be activated.

In an alternative embodiment, the multifunctional keyboard 30, 31 may beprovided in conjunction with a displayed software user interface. Forinstance, the multifunctional keyboard 30, 31 may by represented on adisplay, such as a liquid crystal display (“LCD”). In this embodiment,touching the LCD within the boundaries of a drawn key representation isequivalent to pressing a key on the keyboard 30, 31. In addition, an LCDembodiment of the multifunctional keyboard 30, 31 may include a functionin which the symbols displayed on each drawn key change with theoperational mode to emphasize the particular telephony signal and/orcharacter code to be generated by each key.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a mobile communication device 40utilizing a multifunctional keyboard 30. The keys of the multifunctionalkeyboard 30 are preferably uniformly distributed across the device 40such that approximately half of the QWERTY keys are positioned on theleft hand side of the device 40, and the remaining half of the QWERTYkeys are positioned on the right hand side of the device 40. Inaddition, the QWERTY keys are preferably tilted at angles to facilitateeasy thumb typing while the mobile device is held between the hands of amobile device user.

FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view 41 of the mobile communicationdevice 40 shown in FIG. 4. The communication device 40 preferablyincludes an ear bud 42 that is detachably fitted within a cavity 44 inthe device housing. The ear bud 42 preferably includes a speaker portion46 proportioned to fit within the ear of a communication device user anda microphone portion 48 that extends towards the user's mouth. Whenfitted into the device user's ear, the ear bud 42 may, for example, beused to establish voice communication through the mobile communicationdevice 40. It should be understood, however, that the mobilecommunication device 40 is not limited to embodiments having adetachable ear bud 42. In other embodiments, such as the embodimentdescribed below with reference to FIGS. 5 a and 5 b, voice communicationmay be enabled with other means, such as a speaker and microphonefixedly mounted on the device or an ear piece and microphone connectedto the device 40 through an electrical terminal or jack.

FIG. 5 a is a top view of an additional mobile communication device 40Autilizing a multifunctional keyboard 30. The communication device 40Apreferably includes a speaker 46A and a microphone 48A fixedly mountedon the device. When positioned near the device user's head, the speaker46A and the microphone 48A may, for example, be used to establish avoice communication though the communication device 40A.

FIG. 5 b is a side view 42A of the additional mobile communicationdevice 40A shown in FIG. 5 a. The communication device 40A preferablyincludes a jack 44A for connecting a headset having an earpiece andmicrophone to the device 40.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary mobile communication device 50utilizing a multifunctional keyboard 51. The device 50 preferablyincludes a main module 53 and an ear bud module 55. The multifunctionalkeyboard 51 is included in the main module 53 along with a tone signalgeneration circuit 52, a keyboard mode control software module 54operating on a processor 56, and a memory device 62 having aconfiguration store 61 and a service store 63. In an alternativeembodiment, however, the processor 56 may be replaced by an alternativeprocessing unit, such as a field programmable gate array (“FPGA”) or asoftware interpreter module.

The processor 56 receives keyboard output signals from themultifunctional keyboard 51 and converts these output signals intotelephony tone signals, character codes or both. The mode of operation(data, telephony or joint) for the multifunctional keyboard 51 ispreferably determined by the keyboard mode control software module 54based on either the current requirements of the device 50, a selectionby the user of the device 50, or possibly based on some other triggeringevent. The keyboard mode control software 54 may, for example, set thedevice 50 to a particular keyboard mode when a software application isexecuted on the device 50 and possibly when a particular operation isexecuted by the software application. For instance, if an address bookapplication is executed, the keyboard mode control software 54 willpreferably automatically set the multifunctional keyboard 51 to apreferred mode. When entering or editing an address book entry, datamode is the preferred mode for editing or entering a name, emailaddress, or street address field, whereas joint mode is the preferredmode for editing or entering a telephone number field. Conversely, whenretrieving an address book entry, data mode is the preferred mode forretrieving a name, email address, or street address, whereas eithertelephony mode, joint mode or data mode may be the preferred mode forretrieving a telephone number depending upon the purpose for which it isbeing retrieved. For instance, if a telephone number is retrieved froman address book in order to initiate a voice communication, the numberwill preferably be retrieved in telephony or joint mode.

The configuration store 61 and the service store 63 located in thememory device 62 are preferably used by the keyboard mode controlsoftware 54 to determine which operational mode (data, telephony orjoint) is required for a particular application. In a preferredembodiment, however, the operational mode of the keyboard 51 may also beselected or overridden by a user of the mobile device 50. For instance,with reference to FIG. 2, a mobile device user may preferably select ortrigger a change in the keyboard mode by pressing one of the mode keys29.

Similarly, the letter entry or number entry modes for the keyboardembodiment 30, 31 shown in FIG. 3, is preferably also controlled by thekeyboard mode control software 54. Similar to the operational modes(data, telephony or joint), the number and letter entry modes may beautomatically selected by the keyboard mode control software 54 based onthe application currently executing on the device 50, may be selected bythe device user, or may possibly be selected by some other triggeringevent. For instance, if a voice communication application is executed onthe device 50, the keyboard mode control software 54 will preferablyautomatically set the keyboard 51 to number entry mode (and telephony orjoint mode) so that a telephone number may be dialed. If the user thendesires to enter the telephone number using letters, the user maypreferably trigger the keyboard mode control software 54 to switch thekeyboard 51 to letter entry mode. For example, with reference to FIGS. 3a and 3 b, the user may be able to switch between letter and numberentry modes by pressing the “NUM,” “CAP,” and/or “ALT” key, selecting amode from a pull-down menu, pressing a specialized key, holding down akey for a predetermined period of time, or by some other means.

Referring again to FIG. 6, once an operational mode (and possibly one ofthe letter or number entry modes) for the multifunctional keyboard 51has been selected, either automatically or by a user, the keyboard modecontrol software module 54 instructs the processor 56 to convert thekeyboard output signals to telephony tone signals and/or charactercodes. If the communication device 50 is in data or joint mode, then thekeyboard output signals are converted into character codes, such asASCII codes. If the communication device 50 is in telephony or jointmode, then telephony tone signals, such as DTMF signals, are generated.Then, as the telephony tone signals and/or character codes aregenerated, they may be transferred to a buffer by the processor 56 toawait further processing. For instance, if a telephone number is enteredinto the device 50 while the keyboard 51 is in joint mode, then thecharacter codes and DTMF tone signals for the telephone number arepreferably stored in a buffer until the user initiates the call, forexample by pressing a “send” key. Once the call is initiated, the DTMFtones are further processed to execute the call, and the character codesmay, for example, be further processed to log the call.

The tone signal generation circuitry 52 may be used by the processor 56to generate the telephony tone signals while the multifunctionalkeyboard 51 is in telephony or joint mode. In an alternative embodiment,however, digital telephony tone signals may be generated directly by theprocessor 56, or by a digital signal processor. In addition to telephonytone signals, the tone signal generation circuitry 52 may also generateaudible tones preferably at the option of the communication device user.The audible tones may be used, for example, to notify the user when akey is pressed on the multifunctional keyboard 51. In alternativeembodiments, the tone signal generator may generate distinctive toneswhen a telephony tone signal or character code is generated.

In addition to the components and software relating to themultifunctional keyboard 51, the main module 53 also preferably includesa pair of antennas 58, 60 (although a single antenna structure could beused), a memory device 62, an LCD display 64, at least one rechargeablebattery 66, a long-range RF transceiver 68, one or more short-range RFtransceivers 70, a power supply and recharging circuit 72, a cradleinterface circuit 74, and an auxiliary input device such as a thumbwheel76. The main module 53 may also include a pressure-sensitive writingtablet. Operationally, the long-range RF transceiver 68 is used to sendand receive information from a long-range wireless network, and the oneor more short-range RF transceivers 60 are used to send and receiveinformation from the ear bud module 55, and possibly from other localdevices such as an RF interface cradle, or a local printer coupled to aLAN, or other types of printing or display devices.

The ear bud module 55 is preferably an RF-enabled ear-piece that may beconnected to (both mechanically and electrically) the main module 53 asdescribed above. The ear bud module 55 preferably includes a microphoneand a speaker 78, a short-range wireless transceiver 80, an antenna 82,a rechargeable battery 84, and possibly an integral processor 86.Operationally, the short-range wireless transceiver 80 is used toestablish an RF link between the ear bud module 55 and the main module53.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method 90 forcontrolling the operational mode of the multifunctional keyboard 51 in acommunication device 50. This exemplary method 90 may, for example, beexecuted by the software mode control software module 54 describedabove. In step 92, the communication device 50 is idle. The device 50preferably remains idle until the processor 56 receives a trigger instep 94. The trigger may, for example, be initiated by an unprocessedkey stroke, the activation of a switch, an incoming message, an alarmcondition, the activation of a software application, or any other typeof event that may be detected by the device 50. For instance, themultifunctional keyboard 51 may include a specialized key that triggersa keyboard mode change, or a mode change may be automatically triggeredby the detection of some event such as the activation of a softwareapplication or a selection by the user of the device.

Once a mode change has been triggered in step 94, the type of service(data, telephony or joint) required by the device 50 is determined insteps 96 and 100. The required service may be determined, for example,by accessing the service store 63 locally maintained in a memorylocation 62 on the device 50. The service store 63 preferably includes alog indicating the type of service required by each software applicationon the device 50 and also preferably includes a default service. For thepurposes of the illustration shown in FIG. 7, the default service is thedata mode. It should be understood, however, that either the telephonymode or the joint mode could also be the default service for the mobiledevice 50. In a preferred embodiment, the system also accesses theconfiguration store 61 maintained in the memory location 62 to determineif a preferred mode has been selected for a particular application ortriggering event. The configuration store 61 preferably includes userconfigurable preferences relating to the modes of operations. Forinstance, the configuration store 61 may indicate that the joint mode ispreferred when the communication device 50 connects to a particulartelephone number or IP address.

In step 96, the system determines whether the software applicationcurrently operating on the device (or other triggering event) requiresthe multifunctional keyboard 51 to operate in joint mode. If so, thenthe multifunctional keyboard 51 is set to joint mode in step 98.Otherwise, the device 50 determines whether telephony mode is requiredin step 100. If the current software application (or other triggeringevent) requires telephony mode, then the keyboard 51 is set to telephonymode in step 102. If neither joint mode nor telephony mode are required,however, then the multifunctional keyboard 51 is set to data mode, itsdefault mode of operation, in step 104. The modes of operation aredetailed below with reference to FIG. 8.

While the multifunctional keyboard 51 is in a particular operationalmode, an asynchronous mode change may preferably be initiated upon thereceipt of an additional trigger. This type of mode change isasynchronous in the sense that the change may preferably be initiated atany point during the operational modes described below with reference toFIG. 8. Asynchronous mode changes are illustrated in FIG. 7 by thedotted lines from the three operational modes (steps 98, 102 and 104)returning to step 94 at which a trigger is received. If no asynchronousmode change is received, however, the keyboard 51 preferably remains inthe same operational mode until the currently executing softwareapplication completes its operations, at which point the system returnsto an idle state at step 92.

In a preferred embodiment, more than one application may be running onthe device 50 at the same time, possibly requiring concurrent operationof more than one keyboard mode. For instance, if several applicationsare executing on the device 51, one application may be in the foreground(the active application) while the other applications are in thebackground (the idle applications). In this instance, themultifunctional keyboard 51 will preferably operate in the modeassociated with the foreground application. Then, as the device user (orthe device itself) switches from the foreground application to an idleapplication, an asynchronous trigger is preferably generated to changekeyboard modes. Preferably, before the device 50 switches from oneapplication and associated keyboard mode to another, the current modeassociated with the foreground application is stored in the servicestore 63. Then, when the idle application returns to the foreground andbecomes active, the stored keyboard mode associated with the applicationis detected from the service store 63.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating the exemplary modes of operation110 for the multifunctional keyboard 51. In step 112, the device 50enters a keyboard mode, such as the joint mode, telephony mode or datamode. Then, when a device user presses a key on the multifunctionalkeyboard 51 (step 114), the system 50 preferably determines whether auser notification function has been enabled in step 116. The usernotification function may preferably be configured by the device user togenerate an audible tone as a key is pressed. To determine the usernotification configuration, the system 50 preferably detects one or morenotification flags set by the user and stored in the configuration store61. Preferably, notification flags may be stored in the configurationstore 61 to either enable or disable the notification function for thedata, telephony and joint modes. If the notification function has beenenabled for the current keyboard mode, then the device 50 generates anaudible tone in step 118. In a preferred embodiment, the audible tonegenerated in step 118 is different for each keyboard mode, thus enablingthe device user to determine the current mode.

In step 120, the device 50 generates a character code and/or telephonytone signal corresponding to the key pressed by the user and acorresponding keyboard output signal from the multifunctional keyboard51. As described above, the signal generated in step 120 depends uponthe operational mode of the multifunctional keyboard 51. If themultifunctional keyboard 51 is in joint mode, then the system 50generates both a character code and a telephony tone signal in step 120.If the multifunctional keyboard 51 is in telephony mode, then the system50 generates a telephony tone signal. If the multifunctional keyboard 51is in data mode, then a character code is generated. Once theappropriate character and/or telephony tone signal has been generated instep 120, the system 50 determines whether the current application orother triggering event requiring the current keyboard mode is completein step 122. If the application is complete, then the system exits itscurrent keyboard mode in step 124 and returns to an idle state.Otherwise, the system 50 remains in the current mode and awaits anotherkeystroke at step 114. As was described above with reference to FIG. 7,however, asynchronous mode changed may occur from within any step ofFIG. 8.

In addition to the embodiments described above with reference to FIGS.1-8, additional embodiments are contemplated which allow the operationsof the multifunctional keyboard to be carried out on a lower systemlevel without need for an actual keyboard or a telephony tone signalgenerator. For example, a communication device may include a translationmode wherein the mode control software translates key codes to telephonysignals, and the key codes are provided by voice recognition softwarerecognizing keys spoken by a user, or, alternatively, the key codesbeing provided from storage. In such an embodiment, the mode controlsoftware preferably translates input character codes to generatetelephony signals and/or output character codes, the input charactercodes being interpreted as if they were generated by use of amultifunctional keyboard, thus enabling the communication device to beeasily adapted to a variety of sources of input characters of which akeyboard is but one example.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to make and use the invention. The patentable scope of the inventionis defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur tothose skilled in the art.

We claim:
 1. A method performed by an electronic device, the methodcomprising: receiving an input signal based on selection of a key with aletter label; displaying, based on the input signal, a character codecorresponding to the letter label of the key; and generating a telephonytone signal corresponding to a number, which is associated with theletter label, of a telephone keypad.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereindisplaying the character code and generating the telephony tone signalare performed substantially simultaneously in one of a plurality ofoperating modes.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: bufferingthe telephony tone signal; and outputting, upon initiation of atelephone call, the telephony tone signal that was buffered.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving further signalsgenerated by keys labeled with letters; and outputting, in a telephonenumber field, character codes corresponding to the keys to allow entryof a telephone number via the letters of the keys.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the telephone number comprises a mnemonic havingletters and numbers.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the input signalfurther comprises a plurality of signals generated by a plurality ofletter keys, and each signal of the plurality of signals is convertedinto a corresponding character code and a corresponding telephony tonesignal.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the input signalcomprises displaying a virtual key on a touchscreen user interface, anddetecting a press of the virtual key.
 8. An electronic devicecomprising: a user interface including a key with a letter label; and aprocessor coupled with the user interface, the processor configured to:receive an input signal based on selection of the key, cause the userinterface to display, based on the input signal, a character codecorresponding to the letter label of the key, and generate a telephonytone signal corresponding to a number, which is associated with theletter label, of a telephone keypad.
 9. The electronic device of claim8, wherein operations to cause display of the character code and togenerate the telephony tone signal are performed substantiallysimultaneously in one of a plurality of operating modes, wherein theplurality of operating modes comprises a joint mode of operation. 10.The electronic device of claim 8, further comprising a memory coupled tothe processor, the processor further configured to cause the telephonytone signal to be buffered in the memory until a telephone call isinitiated.
 11. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the processoris configured to receive further signals generated by keys of the userinterface and to output character codes corresponding to the keys in atelephone number field on the user interface and to allow entry of atelephone number using letter keys of the keys.
 12. The electronicdevice of claim 11, wherein the telephone number comprises a mnemonichaving letters and numbers.
 13. The electronic device of claim 8,wherein the user interface is a touchscreen display, and wherein theprocessor is configured to receive the input signal by: causing thetouchscreen display to show a virtual keyboard that includes the key;and detecting a press of the key on the virtual keyboard.
 14. Theelectronic device of claim 8, wherein the input signal further includesa plurality of signals generated by a plurality of letter keys; theprocessor further configured to convert each signal into both of acorresponding character code and a corresponding telephony tone signal.15. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructionswhich, when executed, cause a processor of an electronic device tocontrol operations of: receiving an input signal based on selection of akey with a letter label; displaying, based on the input signal, acharacter code corresponding to the letter label of the key; andgenerating a telephony tone signal corresponding to a number, which isassociated with the letter label, of a telephone keypad.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein theinstructions cause the processor to control the displaying operation andthe generating operation substantially simultaneously in one of aplurality of operating modes of the electronic device.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein theinstructions further cause the processor to control: buffering thetelephony tone signal; and outputting, upon initiation of a telephonecall, the telephony tone signal that was buffered.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein theinstructions further cause the processor to control: receiving furthersignals generated by keys labeled with letters; and outputting, in atelephone number field, character codes corresponding to the keys toallow entry of a telephone number via the letters of the keys.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein thetelephone number comprises a mnemonic having letters and numbers. 20.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, whereinreceiving the input signal comprises displaying a virtual key on atouchscreen user interface associated with the electronic device, anddetecting a press of the virtual key.